Hallelujah
Acres Research Cast Doubt On "Ideal Diet"

By
Greg WestbrookFormer
Health Minister

If
you are a newcomer to the Gen 1:29 Diet, this article may not make much sense
right now. Newcomers to the diet often feel like a frisky colt in the
early going. Some even overcome serious disease on the diet.

But
if you’ve been on the diet for several years like we were, this article may be
a godsend. After only three years on the diet, we sadly admitted to ourselves
that we were losing ground; going backwards in our health, not forward. If you’ve
experienced new and troubling symptoms in your health on the Gen 1:29 Diet, take
heart. You haven’t failed the diet. The diet has probably failed you.

The
Gen 1:29 Biblical Health movement is built on one single verse in the Bible, and
sets itself at odds with the entire spectrum of Biblical teaching on diet. Although
there is no moral harm in personal experimentation with the vegan diet, there
is everything wrong with teaching the vegan diet as “God’s Ideal Diet” that
leads to “ultimate health.”

In
this paper, we will closely examine a research paper by Michael Donaldson, PhD
and highlight the nutritional deficiencies he found in 141 Hallelujah vegetarian
dieters. As we shall see, the diet is not “ideal” because it has several deficiencies.
It is:

Too
high in carbohydrates

Too
low in protein

Low
in energy (calories)

Completely
missing two essential micronutrients and low in seven others

In
spite of all the rhetoric from vegan diet teachers, there has never been a
civilization in the entire world that has been able to survive on the vegan diet.
Every culture depends on some type of animal products to a degree, be it eggs,
milk, cheese, or meat (even insects in third world countries). This includes
the Hunza people who are often falsely represented as vegan even though they eat
dairy and some meat. [1]

This
paper is a bit lengthy, but it is filled with priceless information. I hope you
read it in its entirety and print it out to use as a reference document. I hope
you prayerfully consider all that is written herein.

Sounding
the Alarm

For
almost a year now, we have been sounding the alarm: The Gen 1:29 Diet (a vegan
diet) is a good short-term healing diet, but inadequate for long-term use. We
have been collecting Health Surveys
[2] from long-term dieters this past year that show a large percentage
of people developing health problems on the Gen 1:29 Diet. Many find that short-term
health gains often give way to long-term loss of vitality on the diet.

Because
of potential problems with the Gen 1:29 Diet, we have switched to a whole-Bible
diet called the Plan B DietTM.
[3] We call it Plan B because it is the second diet given to mankind
in Gen 9:3 in the context of blessing Noah. Also, it is based on three B’s: Basic
foods, the full spectrum of Bible teaching, and is a Balanced diet
including clean animal products. None of the junk food and junk meats in the
Standard American Diet is included in the Plan B Diet T

As
I point out in my book: When Hallelujah Becomes “What Happened?” it is
not wholesome meat, dairy and eggs that has been making people sick, but
the junk foods, junk meats, junk dairy, and junk eggs in the Standard American
Diet. God did NOT give us meat to make us sick and die an early death. When
people clean up their diet, get the sugar and processed foods out, and eat only
“clean”, properly grown animal products, the results can be explosive! (Note:
Click here for my book When Hallelujah
Becomes “What Happened?”)

We
are seeing the same short-term testimonies on the Plan B DietTM that
we used to see on the vegan Hallelujah DietSM
[4] ! However, we now have no fear that our students will hit
the wall of deficiency down the road a year or two as they did on the Hallelujah
DietSM.

All
that being said, why do people crash on the vegan diet after several years? A
new (2001) research paper coming from Hallelujah Acres Foundation gives us some
great new clues. Even though this study was not designed to uncover problems
with the diet, surprisingly, deficiencies were identified. I wish I had read
it in 2001 when it was first published, as it could have helped us figure out
why we crashed on the diet.

In
his 10-page article entitled Food and Nutrient Intake of Hallelujah Vegetarians [5] , Michael Donaldson, PhD, explains
the results of a study he did on 141 people on the Hallelujah DietSM
(84 women and 54 men). Dr. Donaldson is the director of the Hallelujah Acres
Foundation.

After
evaluating the 7-day food diaries of these Hallelujah vegetarians, Dr. Donaldson
sounds an ominous note of alarm:

“Some
modifications of this dietary pattern to provide vitamins B12 and D, and higher
intakes of iron, selenium, zinc and protein may be necessary for successful
long-term health.” [6]
(emphasis added)

In
stark contrast to Dr. Donaldson’s warning above, the following summary of his
findings was found on Hallelujah Acres’ website:

“What
this study reveals is that intakes of most vitamins and minerals are adequate
while following The Hallelujah DietSM.

“Only
vitamins B12 and D were extremely low. Hallelujah Acres recommends a vitamin B12
supplement and sunshine, the natural source of vitamin D, to make up for these
low intakes.

Unfortunately,
Hallelujah Acres makes no mention that calcium, iron, selenium, biotin, zinc,
pantothenic acid, iron and protein were also found deficient in Dr. Donaldson’s
study. Rather than sweeping this valuable information under the carpet, it needs
to be highlighted in bold neon lights.

This
is a classic case of calling the tank “half full” when it is actually “half empty.”
Of the 24 vitamins and minerals tracked by Dr. Donaldson, there were significant
shortages in 9 of them: calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium, biotin, zinc,
pantothenic acid, niacin and iron. It was also low in protein, fats and energy.

How
would you like to have enough money to pay all but 9 of your bills out of 24 bills
at the end of the month? You would soon be in debt over your head. Similarly,
when our body fails to get 9 of the essential nutrients, it is only a matter of
time until deficiencies mount up.

Dr.
Donaldson agrees that vitamins B12 and D are the “most critical” deficiencies
[7] , but he voices serious concerns
about other deficiencies as well:
[8]

“Protein
intake was very low in this population.” Page 297

“Further
studies are planned to evaluate the long-term effects of this low protein diet.”
Page 300

“Further
studies are needed to ensure that a positive calcium balance is achieved following
this dietary pattern.” Page 300

“Further
studies are required to determine if zinc status is compromised following the
diet surveyed here.” Page 300

“Vitamin
D status of this population has not yet been investigated.” Page 301

“On
low energy diets, great care must be taken to ensure adequate nutrition; if energy
intake is too low (<50% of DRI [Daily Recommended Intake], one is at risk of
seriously compromising their health.” Page 301

How
serious are these deficiencies? I believe after reading this article, you will
agree they are very serious! We will examine these deficiencies in detail below
and show how our own Health Surveys surprisingly confirm these deficiencies.

One
more topic in this article involves the inability to stick to the diet (frequent
cheating on the diet). Again, from the Hallelujah Acres web site comes this statement:

“Many
times a diet that is lower in calories will result in widespread deficiencies,
causing hunger and inability to stick to the diet.” Source:

If
we did nothing but focus on the protein deficit, this alone is staggering. Dr.
Donaldson found that protein intake of the 141 Hallelujah vegetarians (at .66
grams/day/kg body weight) was only slightly above the minimum physiological
requirement for protein.
[9]

This
should be considered a glaring red flag. How can a pregnant mother or growing
child or athlete expect to thrive on a protein intake barely above minimum physiological
requirement?

Not
surprisingly, Dr. Donaldson found that most of the Hallelujah vegetarians actually
ate animal products during the week. A whopping 58% of the Hallelujah vegetarians
(82 out of 141) ate animal products even though many of them were health ministers.
While they probably felt guilt and failure over eating animal products, the lack
of protein in the diet may have been a major factor in driving them to cheat.

Let’s
take an in-depth look at the deficiencies on the Hallelujah DietSM.

The
Tank Is 27% Empty!

Low
caloric intake by definition means low energy. Dr. Donaldson found the diet on
average only supplied 73% of RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) for energy.
[10] This means the energy tank is 27% empty, just over ¼ tank low!

At
first glance, this doesn’t seem too severe, but on second thought, how would you
like to take a 27% cut in pay? Similarly, if you cut 27% out of your caloric
intake, it will have a severe impact on your energy level.

The
Gen 1:29 Diet is often presented as a high-energy diet, but there is a triple
whammy working against the typical Hallelujah vegetarian.

First
of all, the diet is inherently low in energy intake (calories) at 73% of RDI.
Secondly, as we shall see, deficiencies of zinc, pantothenic acid, niacin, and
iron are common on the diet. Each of these deficiencies can lead to fatigue in
itself. Finally, with protein quite low at only 9% of calories,
[11] there is too little protein to build muscle. (Note: Nutritionists
commonly recommend a 15% protein diet)

Perhaps
this triple whammy is why we see a high percentage of people reporting poor energy
and lack of strength on our own WOW Health Surveys: [12]

Don’t
feel like exercising or working: 63%

Lack
of stamina, endurance and strength: 64%

On
top of the above triple whammy comes another blow: The dieter is told the diet
isn’t working because he isn’t exercising enough. Unfortunately, exercise is
not the silver bullet to correct a deficient diet, and it will only drive
a person further down the deficiency curve, leading to worse problems.

Vegetarian
athletes are often cited as “proof” of high energy on the vegetarian diet. This
is very misleading, because vegetarian athletes invariably eat dairy and eggs
and/or large amounts of soy isolated protein powders (a highly processed food).
Yes, they are lacto-ovo vegetarians eating milk and eggs, but they are absolutely
NOT vegan athletes. To imply that a vegan can do athletic sports at a world class
level is misleading at best and dishonest at worst.

Lacto-ovo
vegetarian athletes are highly competitive, but a vegan athlete is not, simply
because of the low energy in his diet and inability to get enough protein. A
popular vegetarian website warns that vegans will lose weight if they expend more
than 1000 calories in sports activity (roughly the amount of energy to play a
round of golf if you carry your clubs). Source: http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/Vegetarians.htm

Protein
Deficiency

As
already noted, protein intake was very low, barely above minimum physiologicalneed for these 141 dieters. On average, men ate an average of only 47.2
grams per day (Table IV). [13] But the average dieter is
not the one that loses his health; it’s the dieters on the lower end of the
scale. How much protein did those on the lower end of the scale eat?

From
Table IV, we can estimate that 9 men (16% of the men) consumed less than 33.8
grams per day (based on standard deviation)
[14] . This is extremely low!

At
55 years of age and 153 pounds, my protein need is approximately 55-73 grams per
day [15] depending on physical activity
level. If I were only getting 33.8 grams per day like some of the Hallelujah
vegetarians, I would likely suffer serious long-term problems on the diet including
muscle wasting and lost vitality. In fact, this is exactly what happened to me!

Before
my years on the Gen 1:29 Diet, I always had several building and repair projects
going on around the house and farm, but after a few years on the Gen 1:29 Diet,
they all came to a grinding halt for lack of energy. Eventually, I became so
weak and feeble that I couldn’t even operate some of our equipment, such as our
trencher. Work around the house became limited to very light work: changing light
bulbs, taking out the trash, sweeping out the garage, and picking oranges from
the orchard.

Muscle
loss is a big concern on the Gen 1:29 Diet. A separate study by Dr. Donaldson:
Fibromyalgia syndrome improved using a mostly raw vegetarian diet: An observational
study seems to confirm muscle loss after just 7 months on the diet. In this
study, subjects reported that hand strength was down significantly (by 23%) in
the right hand, and down by 17% in the left hand. [16] With this much muscle loss after only seven
months, one can only wonder how much muscle wasting would occur after several
years on the diet. (Details are in note 16 at the end.)

I
have a friend who is very meticulous in recording his workout weights and repetitions.
After a few months on the Gen 1:29 Diet, he realized that he was losing strength
since he could no longer perform at his previous level. Now that he is no longer
on the Gen 1:29 Diet, his strength is coming back in force, and his muscular build
(noticeably absent in long-term Gen 1:29 dieters) is also returning.

Since
the data in Dr. Donaldson’s study lumps 59 vegans in with the 82 non-vegans who
ate animal products, we can only wonder how little protein the vegans were receiving.
It is most disappointing that Dr. Donaldson did not separate the data for the
59 vegans who participated in the study, as this surely would have painted a more
accurate (probably more grim) picture of the vegan diet.

Signs
of Protein Deficiency

Severe
long-term protein deficiency with low carbohydrate intake can lead to a condition
called Failure to Thrive. Symptoms include:
[18]

Extreme
hunger

Gross
weight loss

Growth
retardation (in infants)

Wasting
of subcutaneous fat

Muscle
wasting

Reduced
insulin secretion

Reduced
thyroid function

Recurring
persistent infections

On
the other hand, if dietary protein is low, but carbohydrate intake is relatively
high (much like the diet of the 141 subjects), symptoms are somewhat different:

Edema
(water retention, swelling). Edema is much more common in women than men because
of the effect of female hormones on the body's metabolism and circulation. Edema
is deceptive because it gives the appearance of being “chubby”, making a person
appear fully nourished. [19]

A
number of the symptoms above are fairly common on the Gen 1:29 Diet. Fortunately,
most people begin to cheat on the diet out of necessity as they slip into deficiency.
Those who cheat by eating animal products will tend to pull out of the deficiency,
whereas those who cheat with more fruit will only fall further into protein deficiency.

Few
Gen 1:29 dieters reach this point, but severe prolonged protein deficiency in
a low-energy diet can lead to a serious medical problem called Protein-Energy
Malnutrition (PEM). This condition is common in developing countries due to deficient
diets, but can also be self-inflicted by adherence to deficient diets.

Food
Sources of Protein

Animal
products including beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs and milk are the primary
source of protein although small amounts can be obtained from fruit and vegetables.
Protein is relatively abundant in nuts, but nuts also contain large amounts of
fat, making them a less desirable source of protein. For example, almonds are
approximately 13% protein, but they are 74% fat. Walnuts are even higher in fat
at 81% with only 8% protein.

Grains
and legumes, if properly combined, are the best source of protein for vegans,
although they are not a significant part of the Hallelujah DietSM.

Note:
As we shall see later, the Hallelujah Diet is not precisely defined in some areas,
yet followers are encouraged to do the diet 100%. Grains and legumes are somewhat
ambiguous since they do not appear at all in the ideal diet column on page 65
of Recipes For Life [21] , but they do appear in the food
pyramid on page 63 of Recipes For Life in tiny amounts. This, of course,
leaves the dieter without clear direction.

Vegetarians
(not to be confused with vegans) commonly eat eggs and dairy to help get enough
protein. Without eggs and dairy, vegans have no significant source of protein
except for soy products. We do not eat soy products since they are highly processed,
far from a basic whole food.

Vitamin
And Mineral Deficiency

Several
serious deficiencies were identified in the diet of the Hallelujah Vegetarians.
Table 1 shows all the deficient nutrients along with the approximate daily need
for each nutrient. High-risk individuals are highlighted in yellow, and Extreme-risk
are highlighted in red. I strongly recommend you read this table thoroughly and
understand the risks of the vegan diet.

Calcium:

Referring
to Table 1, note that all 87 Hallelujah women were low in calcium intake.
On average, daily calcium intake for the Hallelujah women was 577 mg; about half
of normal daily need depending on age. However, some women received as little
calcium as 421 mg per day, placing them at extreme risk.

**Warning**
Pregnant or lactating woman need 1200-1300 mg per day of calcium and should be
highly cautioned to consider the risks in light of the scant calcium available
on the Gen 1:29 Diet.

Vitamin
B12

Looking
again at Table 1, we see an extreme risk for women for vitamin B12, even more
so if pregnant. The average intake of vitamin B12 was 0.51 mcg/day; however,
this is due to the fact that over half of the Hallelujah vegetarians ate animal
products. Those who ate no animal products and did not supplement received
no vitamin B12 whatsoever, a nightmare scenario for repeat vegan pregnancies.

**Warning**
Pregnant women need 2.6 mcg per day of calcium and should be highly cautioned
to consider the risks in light of the scant B12 available on the Gen 1:29 Diet.

Of
all the essential vitamins, B12 is the most interesting one because it can only
be obtained in appreciable amounts from animal products, not plant sources. Yet
it is an essential vitamin! Without B12, we become host to a number of
deficiency symptoms.

The
fact that this vitamin is missing altogether in the vegan Hallelujah DietSM
is evidence that the diet is neither “ideal”, nor viable for long-term health
maintenance. Of course, the simple “fix” is to take a synthetic vitamin B12 supplement
manufactured in a laboratory. Would God give us an “ideal” diet that depends
upon the existence of laboratories to manufacture substances that are missing
altogether in the diet?

There
is nothing wrong with taking a man-made vitamin B12 substitute, but there is everything
wrong with calling a diet that is missing an essential nutrient “God’s ideal diet.”

Another
question we should ask ourselves about synthetic vitamin B12: How can a chemical
substance manufactured in a laboratory totally and completely replace something
found in nature?

Vitamin
B12 is not a trivial substance. It has the largest and most complex molecular
structure of all the vitamins. It is unique among vitamins in that it
contains a metal ion, cobalt. For this reason cobalamin is the term used
to refer to compounds having B-12 activity.
[26]

We
must understand that chemical approximations of vitamin B12 are not the same
as the real vitamin B12 provided in animal products. Another thing science
cannot duplicate is the delicate, synergistic balance of vitamins and minerals
as they are packaged by God in real foods.

Note:
An article entitled: Vitamin B12 and the Hallelujah DietSM is
posted on Hallelujah Acres web site that contains clear warnings about B12 deficiency.

Knowing
the dangers of B12 deficiency, I would think that an article of this importance
would be prominently linked to main web pages as a clear warning for children
and pregnant women.

Women
on a vegan diet can easily suffer vitamin B12 deficiency, especially pregnant
and lactating women. Some develop a false sense of security thinking they are
on an ideal diet, and don’t realize the need for supplementation. This accentuates
the need for a clear warning on vitamin B12.

Selenium:

A
full 64 of the 87 Hallelujah women were low in selenium intake. While the average
selenium intake was sufficient at 67 mcg per day, some women apparently received
none at all. If so, they would be at extreme risk.

Iron:

Iron
found in plant sources is non-heme iron and is less absorbable than the heme iron
found in animal foods. For this reason the RDA for iron from plant foods would
be 1.8 times the normal RDA for iron. [27] Therefore the RDA for iron is:
(1.8) times (8 mg/day) = 14.4 mg/day for adult men and women for iron from plant
sources.

Hallelujah
vegetarian women ate as little as 10.2 mg per day, satisfying just 71% of the
RDA for iron for vegetarians.

**WARNING**There is a huge red flag for pregnant women hidden in the
bushes here. Pregnant women need MUCH MORE iron than the average person
- up to 48.6 mg/day (plant-source iron). Some Hallelujah vegetarian woman ate
as little as 10.2 mg/day of iron. Please read and beware if you are a pregnant
woman on a vegan diet!

Vitamin
D:

Vitamin
D is seriously lacking in the Gen 1:29 Diet but I have not included it in Table
1 because it is easily obtained from sunlight in a normal healthy person. However,
if a person lives in an area where sunshine is not abundant, vitamin D will be
lacking in the diet. A significant number of people cannot get adequate absorption
from the sunlight, especially dark skinned people in a northern climate during
winter.

Biotin,
Zinc, Pantothenic Acid, Niacin:

Women
appeared at risk for deficiencies in these elements, especially if pregnant or
lactating.

Red
Flags From Table 1:

Table
1 shows extreme risk for certain Hallelujah vegetarian
women for calcium, vitamin B12, selenium and iron. If pregnant or
lactating, the risks appear even worse. And we must remember that the risk is
not only to the mother, but also to the child.

Women
are at high risk for all other elements, depending on age and whether pregnant
or lactating.

Men
are at high risk for calcium and vitamin B12. If men ate more animal products
than women, this may explain why men appeared at lower risk than women in general.

Again,
it is surprising that nutrient deficiencies of this magnitude have been identified
by Dr. Donaldson, particularly in a research program undertaken to highlight the
benefits of the diet. Since 58% of the dieters ate animal products, we can be
certain that those that did not eat animal products were very low in nutrients.
It would be most interesting if Dr. Donaldson would isolate the vegan dieters
from the non-vegan so we could have a more accurate reading on vegan diet nutrients.

Do
these findings mean that nobody can thrive long-term on the Gen 1:29 Diet?
Not at all. Some people appear to be able to endure nutritional deficiencies
for a long period of time and do appear to thrive. But these folks must not think
that just because they thrive, everybody can thrive.

Few
people have the constitution to cope with nutritional deficiencies in the long
term. The teaching that the Gen 1:29 Diet is a “one-size-fits-all” is not
only presumptuous, it is also dangerous.

Deficiencies
Lead To Health Problems

Why
the Difference?

Our
findings regarding long-term health problems developed on the Gen 1:29 Diet are
not in agreement with Dr. Donaldson’s study of 141 Hallelujah vegetarians.
He collected questionnaires regarding quality of life and health assessment from
the 141 dieters, noting that there was a dramatic improvement in all markers including
physical functioning, vitality and mental health.
[28] Why did these 141 dieters record such improvements in their
health, yet our WOW Health Surveys show severe long-term health issues with the
diet? There are several reasons for this disparity:

· The 141 Hallelujah vegetarians were not a cross section
of the average dieter. They were an elite group, many of whom were health ministers,
who are very enthusiastic about promoting the Gen 1:29 diet. These were obviously
people for whom the diet was working well; otherwise they would have already dropped
out of this elite group.

·The
average time on the diet was 28 months. While 28 months is plenty of time to
develop problems on the diet, it usually is not enough time for people to realize
that the diet is the source of their newly developing health problems. Normally,
at 28 months, most people are in full blown tinkering mode, totally unaware that
any newly developing health problems are due to the Gen 1:29 Diet.

With
this in mind, let’s look at several long-term health issues that are tied to deficiencies
in the diet:

Mental
/ Emotional Problems

A
deficiency in any of the vitamins or minerals in Table 1 creates its own health
problems in the long-term. For example, it is commonly known that low calcium
leads to osteopenia and osteoporosis. But a deficient diet will normally produce
several deficiency problems. Over half of the Hallelujah vegetarian women ate
a diet deficient in seven elements: calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium,
biotin, zinc and pantothenic acid. What happens when several of these deficiencies
“gang up” on our unsuspecting dieter?

Let’s
assume that a person is low in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, pantothenic
acid, niacin and iron; all common deficiencies on the Gen 1:29 Diet. If we just
look at the symptoms related to mental and emotional stability for these elements,
we can see that the mind is probably going to be affected to some degree:

Depression
appears on the list above six times, irritability appears five times, memory impairment
appears twice and confusion appears twice. Can you imagine the cumulative effect
of deficiencies in all these nutrients?

We
were surprised ourselves when mental issues surfaced as the number one problem
in our own WOW Health Surveys.

In
our own family, we now realize that we all suffered to a degree from lost mental/emotional
capacity, but we nearly lost our son, Terry, due to severe depression.

We
are also aware of several people who have nearly lost their sanity on the Gen
1:29 Diet. One case is a lady with no previous history of depression who, after
only a few months on the diet feared that she was losing her mind and faced certain
institutionalization. Having backed out of the diet by adding clean animal products,
she is now sound in mind once again.

These
two cases represent the extreme of how the Gen 1:29 Diet can affect people, but
one can only wonder what lesser, mostly undetected reduced mental capacity
people are suffering. From what I have seen, some Gen 1:29 Dieters are totally
unaware of the mental/emotional capacity they may have lost.

After
all, how can a person know he’s losing mental/emotional capacity when he’s losing
the ability to think straight? It is a self-blinding syndrome. (Lost mental
and emotional capacity often shows up in relationships that just don’t seem to
work right any more, people are hard to get along with, and sometimes the home
life just isn’t sweet anymore.)

Fatigue,
Lethargy

Mental
problems are by no means the only long-term problems people have with the diet.
As you can see from Table 2, 64% of the people reported: “Lack of stamina, endurance,
and strength”. Nearly two thirds (63%) reported: “Don’t feel like exercising
or working.” Again, fatigue and lethargy are caused by a host of various deficiencies:
vitamin B12, zinc, pantothenic acid, niacin and iron.

Physical
Problems

Lack
of sufficient protein coupled with various vitamin and mineral deficiencies stack
up to cause a host of physical breakdown problems as Table 2 shows. Loss of muscle
and muscle tone is the most often reported problem. All these problems are what
happen to a person who does not provide his body with the building blocks he needs
to regenerate the body. I endured heart palpitations for years on the vegan diet
thinking that I was the only one to ever develop this condition on a vegan diet.
To my great surprise, I found about one fourth (25%) of Gen 1:29 dieters also
have developed heart palpitations on the diet.

Poor
Digestion

On
the vegan diet, the digestive system becomes more finicky and less robust as the
years go by. Eventually, every meal and snack becomes an event that requires
careful thought. As shown in Table 2, 43% of the people reported “Trouble coping
with food combinations” and 39% reported “Unable to digest food quickly.”

Table
2 Health Problems/Deficiencies
Confirmed By WOW Health Surveys

Shoring
Up The Diet

If
you are suffering from any of the symptoms in Table 2, you may be tempted to start
taking a spectrum of vitamin and mineral supplements. Before you do that, remember:
supplements fall far short of God’s plan for our dinner tables.

Rather
than loading up on bottles of pills from the local health food store, why not
consider eating God-given foods that contain an abundance of these missing nutrients.
Remember the great promise in Psalms 103:5:

“[God]
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the
eagles”

--
Ps 103:5

Supplements
are no match for real foods. We are tracking several Gen 1:29 dieters who are
galloping down the supplement trail, and they are not getting results like
those who are turning to the Plan B DietTM (balanced whole foods diet
including clean animal products)! I can’t say it better than Nancy Appleton in
her book Lick The Sugar Habit:

“If
you don’t stop doing the things that make your body sick, all the medicine, vitamins,
and other nutritional supplements in the world won’t make you well.” [32]

If
your beliefs don’t allow you to partake of animal products, then you must supplement
with vitamin B12, and you may also need other supplements to address deficiencies.
You will need to work hard at eating the foods that provide the missing nutrients,
and may also need to pursue a supplementation regimen under the care of a knowledgeable
physician. Some may also need thyroid medication and digestive enzymes to maintain
long-term health.

The
body can cope for a short time with a deficient diet, but eventually it begins
to cry out for nutrition. Unless we have tremendous self-discipline, we will
eventually give in to eating some of the foods we’re missing in our diet.

As
we shall see, most of our 141 dieters did begin to cheat, fudging the diet in
several ways: [34]

They ate more
fruit than is advised. Fruit constituted 25.7% of the total energy (calorie)
intake. This is much higher than the 15% advised on the Hallelujah DietSM.

They
ate 55% raw (unheated), much less than the 85% raw advised by the Hallelujah DietSM. [35]

They
ate more grain products than advised (18.6% of total caloric intake). Grain input
is not clearly defined for the diet. The food pyramid for the Hallelujah DietSM
has a “Bread and cooked grains” component showing approximately 6% grains and
bread, but the food chart of page 65 of Recipes for Life [36] shows no grains at all
on the ideal diet. Either way these 141 dieters felt the need to eat more grain
than the “ideal” diet prescribes.

Most
people (58% of them) ate animal products [37] , strictly
forbidden on the Hallelujah DietSM. Of the 141 dietary logs Dr. Donaldson
collected, 82 of these included animal products during the week.

Those
who ate animal products consumed an average of 29.3 grams per day (just
over one ounce per day). It is a bit surprising that Health Ministers really
eat this much meat, dairy and eggs. How much is one ounce per day?

1 egg per day
or

A
7-oz steak every week or

Two
hamburgers per week or

One
ounce of cheese per day or

A
stick of butter every four days or

Two
dishes of cottage cheese per week

Why
do people cheat on this diet? They cheat because they are starving, their bodies
are crying out for nutrition, and they have powerful food cravings.

Food
cravings appeared to be a severe problem judging from WOW Health Survey results:

59% reported cravings
for cheese, dairy, nuts

58%
reported to be plagued by food cravings

55%
were constantly snacking

35%
reported salt cravings

26%
reported cravings for meat

Mustering
Willpower

What
would happen if these 141 dieters had mustered the willpower to do the diet 100%?
They would cut back on their fruit intake to 15% fruit (vs. actual 25.7%), they
would eliminate most grains (which provided 18.6% of their calories), and they
would eliminate animal products. Where would this leave our “ideal dieters?”

They
would have just eliminated nearly one-third (29.3%) of their caloric intake!
Add this to the fact that their diets are already approximately 27% low in calories
already, and you end up with a ravenously hungry person. How can the “ideal dieter”
make up these calories? The only thing left is vegetables. Have you ever gone
to the refrigerator when you were really hungry and found only vegetables? I
think you get the picture.

In
actual practice, the diet is nearly impossible to do 100%, yet well-meaning health
ministers insist that to get the best results, the diet must be done 100%. Consequently,
we have a small army of cheating Gen 1:29 dieters who are constantly under guilt
and feel they have failed the diet. In reality, the diet has failed them!

Pity
The Misfit

If
you’ve developed health problems on the Gen 1:29 Diet, and shared your struggles
with fellow Gen 1:29 dieters, you’ve probably had plenty of advice from your friends
who took good notes at health minister training. They’ll probably tell you:

“You
must be detoxing.”

“We’ve
never seen this problem before. You’re the only one.”

“All
your problems will clear up if you stick with the diet long enough.”

“You’re
under too much stress. Even a perfect diet can’t compensate for extreme stress.”

“It
only works 90% of the time. There are no guarantees.”

“You
need to get more raw food in your diet.”

“You
need to get more cooked food in your diet.” (a recent addition to the litany)

“Are
you taking enough Udo’s Oil?”

“You’re
eating too much fruit.”

“You’re
not exercising enough.”

When
all the above fail, the ultimate trump card is played by your friends (who
are probably distant relatives of Job’s friends):

“If
you are having problems on the diet, it’s because you are not doing the diet 100%.”

This
statement places the blame on the struggling dieter, never on the diet. Further
complicating matters, the diet is supposedly based on Scripture and is therefore
“God’s Ideal Diet.” This suggests that it borders on heresy to question the diet.

The
struggling dieter is left with no answers except to try harder at what he’s already
been doing. He is also left to shoulder the heavy burden of guilt and the stigma
of being the misfit for whom the diet did not work.

This
is most unfortunate for the struggling dieter. Let’s examine the assumptions
behind the “not doing the diet 100%” theory:

The
diet is infallible:As we’ve thoroughly discussed, the Gen.
1:29 Diet is deficient and does not contain enough essential nutrients to sustain
vitality in the long term. It is anything but infallible.

It
is God’s Ideal Diet:While the vegan diet is supported by Gen
1:29, it is not supported by the full spectrum of Biblical teaching on nutrition.
There is nothing wrong with a person eating a vegan diet, but to teach the vegan
diet as dogma borders on being a false doctrine. We must realize that many cults
have been established on doctrine based on isolated verses in the Bible, and that
this is not a valid method for establishing sound teachings.

All
problems with the diet can be blamed on failure to do it 100%:A
close scrutiny of the Hallelujah DietSM reveals that it is in fact
impossible to do the diet 100%, as we shall see next.

Doing
the Diet 100% - Chasing the Mirage

Let’s
take a closer look at why the Hallelujah DietSM is impossible to do
100%. We’ll look at the diet recommendations two different ways:

The typical day
on the Hallelujah DietSM recommendations.

The food pyramid
in Recipes For Life, page 63.

Typical
Day Guidelines

According
to George Malkmus’ typical day, the food recommended for breakfast, lunch, dinner,
and snacks includes:

3
teaspoons of green powder

16
oz carrot juice

A
large salad (3 cup salad – my definition of a large salad)

Some
fruit (not over 15% of the total diet)

A
cooked portion at dinner (not over 15% of the total diet)

A
tablespoon of Udo’s Choice Perfected Oil Blend (mentioned in other teachings)

Using
a nutritional computer program called Diet Power
[38] , I entered these exact foods into the database, selecting
a baked potato for the cooked portion, and added a tablespoon of Udo’s Choice
Perfected Oil Blend.

Fruit
must be limited to less than one banana (2/3 banana) to keep the fruit portion
to 15% of total calories. The potato had to be limited to a tiny 3-ounce size
to keep the cooked portion of the diet to 15%. Amazingly, the “ideal diet” total
calories amounted to only 603 calories, hardly enough to sustain life.

The
astute dieter soon realizes that he cannot survive on 603 calories and will add
larger portions. He will also likely add nuts, avocados, and grains even though
none are mentioned in George Malkmus’ typical day. But as you can see this diet
“by the book” is woefully insufficient in calories.

Food
Pyramid Guidelines

Since
we can’t use George Malkmus’ “typical day” to clearly represent the diet, let’s
look at the diet using the food pyramid on page 63 in Recipes For Life.

Using
simple geometry to figure out area of each food type on the pyramid, I calculated
the following percentages:

Using
these percentages, I again entered food into the Diet Power10
computer program to calculate portions assuming a 2000-calorie diet for myself.
Here is the food that corresponds to the food pyramid:

Over
one full gallon (20 cups – five quarts) of raw chopped mixed vegetables and salad
including (560 calories):

3
1/3 cups broccoli

3
1/3 cups shredded carrots

2
2/3 cups summer squash

5
1/3 cups spinach

1
1/3 cup beets

4
cups dinner salad

Two
bananas and two oranges (440 calories)

12
tablespoons barley powder

19
almonds

21
oz. carrot juice

8
oz potato

1
1/3 slice bread

One
tablespoon Udo’s Choice Perfected Oil Blend

The
above diet is as close as I can approximate “doing the diet 100%” according to
the food pyramid. Granted, the fruit percentage is a little higher than the 15%
stated in the “typical day”, but it very closely approximates the food pyramid.

Exactly
what nutrients does the above diet contain? Placing all the above food into the
Diet Power10 computer program, the ideal model of the diet looks
pretty good; certainly a lot better than the 141 Hallelujah Vegetarians, but still
has some problems:

Pros
to “Ideal Diet:”

Selenium
and zinc are only slightly deficient.

Most
(90%) of my protein needs are met (13% of diet is protein)

It
has enough calories to meet my needs (2000 calories)

Cons
to “Ideal Diet:”

The
fact that the diet now supplies almost all my micronutrients and needs (except
for vitamins B12 and D) is impressive. But there is still one insurmountable
problem. Who can eat 5 quarts of chopped vegetables and salad? It is virtually
impossible.This diet, if done 100% by the book, is impossible!

I
usually reach the point of being full at about three cups of food. I could not
possibly eat 5 quarts of vegetables every day. Even my wife who needs 1500 calories
would need to eat nearly a whole gallon (15 cups) of vegetables and salad.

As
we might suspect, our Hallelujah vegetarians only received 8.2% of their calories
from vegetables and salads [39]
, corresponding roughly to about one quart (four cups) a day. Not
bad! But still a far cry from the 25% to 28% normally called for on the “ideal
diet.”

Undoubtedly
there was a day in the garden of Eden when man could eat a pint or so of vegetables
and receive plenty of nutrition. But it appears those days are gone.

Health
Gains?

It
seems slightly unfair to attribute health gains to the Hallelujah DietSM
as Dr. Donaldson does on page 295, since the majority of the Hallelujah vegetarians
were eating animal products. If we were to be precise, we would credit the actual
diet practiced by most of the 141 dieters. The actual diet could be described
as:

“A
diet similar to the Hallelujah DietSM, but including a modest amount
of animal products.”

It
would have been interesting if Dr. Donaldson had presented separate data for the
59 people who did NOT consume animal products. I fear that these 59 people were
even more deficient in nutrient intake, since animal products are the primary
source of the vitamins and minerals in question.

Could
it be that God’s wisdom is higher than man’s wisdom regarding what we should eat?
Perhaps Genesis 9:3 is not a curse to be carefully avoided after all:

“Every
moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I
given you all things.” Genesis 9:3

We
know a number of long-term Gen 1:29 Dieters who do not eat any animal products
whatsoever. Almost without exception, they are still tinkering with their diets;
getting blood tests, urine analysis, hair analysis, searching for the missing
key, reading new diet books and trying one supplement after another. It is a
pity that they are still chasing the vegan diet rainbow.

We
overcame our severe deficiency symptoms by doing something as simple as change
our diets to include a modest amount of clean animal products. Many others
across America are also finding that “clean”, properly raised animal products
are very powerful foods and capable of restoring vitality to struggling vegan
dieters.

A
Word On Meat

It
is most unfortunate that people believe the misinformation about animal products
taught by George Malkmus: that meat is a killer food and is the cause of 90%
of mankind’s health woes. Granted, much of the meat available in the grocery
stores these days is in fact junk meat. Animals are often fed a contaminated
diet, and meat is often processed using harmful preservatives and chemicals; but
this is no reason to assail “clean” meats freely given to us by God. To claim
that God gave us meat to shorten our days, make us sick, and kill us betrays
the true character of God.

As
we explained in our “FAQ’s About Meat and Your Health” videos·, virtually every single study “proving” the
harmful effects of meat eating is flawed for at least two reasons:

No study has ever
been done on people who were eating Biblically approved meats from animals that
were properly grown and fed. All studies have either used highly modified “protein”
such as milk casein OR standard junk meats including luncheon meats, hot dogs
and the like.

In
virtually every study, including The China Project, the people who ate
meat also ate junk food. We call this the missing junk-food co-factor.
For example, more affluent Chinese urban dwellers had more health problems than
their counterparts living in rural China, supposedly because they ate more meat.
However, it is well known that Chinese urban dwellers also eat more junk foods
including soft drinks, white flour products and processed foods than rural Chinese.

Meat,
dairy and eggs are gifts to mankind that we need. The powerful Plan B DietTM,
which is in agreement with the full spectrum of Biblical teaching, will turn a
sick and ailing church into a sound and agile church, and God will get the credit.
After all, it is His complete diet, as outlined in the pages of the Bible. But
we must turn beyond the first page to find it.

Conclusion

The
diet practiced by 141 Hallelujah Vegetarians was deficient in protein, energy
and nine essential micronutrients. Women appeared to be at extreme risk for deficiencies
in calcium, vitamin B12, selenium and iron, and at high risk for deficiencies
in biotin, zinc, pantothenic acid and niacin. Men appeared to be at high risk
for deficiencies in vitamin B12 and calcium. Over an extended period of time,
deficiencies can lead to a host of health problems, as confirmed by WOW Health
Surveys.

The
fact that 58% of the Hallelujah vegetarians ate animal products, and that food
cravings appear to be quite severe on the diet suggest that cheating is being
driven by the deficient nature of the diet.

If
practiced “by the book” according to the food pyramid, a person would have to
eat a gallon or more of chopped, mixed vegetables and salad every day,
making this diet practically impossible for anyone to follow. Yet, dieters are
commonly told that they must do the diet 100% to get the best results.

A
much more viable diet for the long term is a diet that includes “clean”, properly
grown animal products in moderation but none of the junk food or junk meats in
the Standard American Diet.

My
book When Hallelujah Becomes “What Happened?” contains
instructions for moving to the Plan B DietTM. We also have a video
called Making The Move To The Plan B DietTM that addresses special
concerns for vegan dieters moving back to animal products.

I
hope readers of this paper have gained a thorough understanding of the nutritional
deficiencies of the Gen 1:29 Diet so they can adequately help themselves and struggling
fellow dieters. I hope each of you will digest this material with prayer and
an open mind.

“The
heart of the prudent getteth knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.”
Prov 18:15

Finally,
I’d like to thank Dr. Donaldson for the fine work he did in his research paper.
I hope Dr. Donaldson will continue to publish more information and perhaps even
include his own family’s dietary regimen in future writings.

Direct
responses to this paper to greg @ gthings.com (remove spaces)

· Note: As we pointed out in our video Rethinking the Gen
1:29 Diet, a high carbohydrate diet can lead to insulin resistance,
plaque in the arteries, diabetes, cancer and stroke if carried on long enough

References:

[1] Hunzas eat dairy and meat:

“The
butter-milk or lassi that is left they drink. They also drink whole milk. They
sour milk and butter-milk, which keep better when soured.”

[2] WOW (Weigh of Wisdom Workshop) Health
Survey lists the most 54 most commonly mentioned health problems that are
developed on the Gen 1:29 Diet in the long term.

[3] Plan B DietTM is a diet of organic
fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and clean animal products. It is free
of all junk food, and is based upon the full spectrum of Biblical teaching. More
information in my book.

[4] Hallelujah DietSM is a service mark
of Hallelujah Acres. As advocated, it is a vegan diet of 85% raw food and carrot
juice and 15% cooked foods.

[11] Ibid, page 297. Protein intake
percent was not clearly stated in the paper, but can be calculated from the information
given. Carbohydrate intake was given as 67% of total calories and fat intake
is at approximately 24% of total calories. Protein intake is then calculated
at 100% less 67% less 24% = 9%.

[14] For men, standard deviation for
protein was 13.36 grams (from Table V). This means that 68% of the men consumed
between 33.8 grams per day and 60.6 grams of protein. It also means that roughly
16% of the men (about 9 men) consumed less than 33.8 grams per day. (Without
the actual data, this is as close as I can estimate the low end of protein intake
for men.)

In
this study, data was collected on 26 people eating the Hallelujah DietSM.
Dietary intake was on par with the 141 Hallelujah vegetarians:

Carbohydrate
intake at 65%

Protein
intake at 11%

Fat
intake at 24%

This
was a short-term experiment (7 months). Out of 27 people, 19 (70%) improved on
the diet although 8 (30%) did not improve, which falls far short of health claims
commonly applied to this diet. I would expect positive results since these people
cleaned up their diet, ate large amounts of healthful fruits and vegetables, carrot
juice and BarleyGreen. This clearly demonstrates the benefit of the cleansing
diet for the short term.

Items
tracked were pain, range of motion, rotation, flexibility, endurance (six minute
walk and stand up/sit down chair test) and hand strength. Respondents reported
much less strength than before after only seven months on the diet.

Strength
in the right hand was down by 23%, and left hand down by nearly 17% (see Table
2, page 5). While they had better flexibility in their movements, their actual
strength was down significantly. Could this be the beginning stage of muscle
loss on the vegan diet? Bone strength was not measured. Perhaps more studies
should be done to track muscle strength and bone strength over a longer period
of time.

[24] Food and Nutrient Intake of
Hallelujah Vegetarians, Table V, page 299. This column is calculated by subtracting
the standard deviation from the mean intake for each element. Approx 16% of the
dieters will be at or below these intake values.

[33] Food sources of vitamins/minerals:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/Note: Shellfish and pork were omitted since they are not included in the
Plan B DietTM. Tofu was omitted since it is not a basic whole food.
Fortified foods were not listed since the nutrients were artificially added to
the whole food itself.

[38] You can track your nutritional
intake by using a computer program that I am currently using myself. It allows
you to enter all the foods you eat every day, and it will tell you how much protein,
carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals (including B12) you are getting in
your food. I would HIGHLY recommend the use of this program for those of you
who choose to continue on the Gen 1:29 Diet in the long term. We do not sell
or benefit from the sale of this program. It can be downloaded at http://www.dietpower.com/Your
health is well worth the cost of this valuable tool ($49.95). I would be very
interested in hearing from readers who try this program. It can also be quite
valuable to someone wanting to lose weight.

Disclaimer:
Throughout this website, statements are made pertaining to the properties
and/or functions of food and/or nutritional products. These statements
have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and
these materials and products are not intended to diagnose, treat,
cure or prevent any disease.